Is Book Hype Truly All That Bad?

When one traverses the book blogging realm odds are you’ll encounter: hype. What is hype? It is a tricky (and sometimes evil) squid that forces your expectations to build a city of hope that a certain book is going to be excellent. Beyond excellent. INCREDIBLY EXCELLENT, OKAY?! The key word here is: expectations. Hype makes us expect a book is going to be good as “everyone” claims.

That’s why it’s sometimes evil.

I’ve stumbled across books that’ve been hyped over the blogosphere and, after reading, I’ve shrieked things like, “BUT WHY???” and “THIS ISN’T EVEN SPECIAL” and “I’M FEEDING THIS DISAPPOINTING NOVEL TO MY DRAGONS AND EATING ICE CREAM TO COVER MY DISAPPOINTMENT RIGHT NOW.” All very logical things to shriek, of course.

When your expectations get too high…it’s hard to meet them. SIMPLE.

And I know people who a) avoid hyped books because of this or b) hate hyped books on principle.

But after saying all that…honestly….

Is hype really all bad?

I have made a handy dandy list of pros and cons for the practise of hyping books. YOU’RE WELCOME.

P R O S

When a book is hyped, TONS of people read it. This turns the book into a kind of international book club read. Which is epic because now there are tons of people to discuss the book with!

And we all know…discussing books is basically the best thing since chocolate brownie cheesecake.

Except cheesecake is always going to be better.

BUT I DIGRESS.

Whether you love or hate the book, since so many people have read it — you’ll always find someone that shares the same opinion as you. You can make unlikely friends because of this!

It’s really nice for the author. I’m not saying authors should get famous for NO REASON…but I am saying (as a writer myself) it would be absolutely incredibly marvellously awesome to realise your book was flailing through the internet as a much-anticipated-release. Plus money to support oneself = very helpful.

It’s nice to share mutual excitement for something! Like counting down till Christmas!

It’s not always the publishers who do the hyping. Sometimes it’s your friends. Ergo, I am pretty likely to trust my friends’ hyping of a book.

C O N S

Obviously you have these mega high expectations now…and if they’re unfulfilled you feel CHEATED. Not a nice feeling!

Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair for a particular book to get hyped. Like you’ve read another version of it (maybe better written) and it’s totally flown under the radar. Which is totally unfair. Or, worse, this is just one of MANY books like it and you don’t see why it gets to be special.

It’s NOT being hyped because it’s a “good book”…it’s being hyped because it fills a hole in the book world. I think this is monstrously unfair. And I’ve definitely seen it happen! Oh this book features a blind, asexual, ethnic protagonist? HYPE IT. IT MUST BE GOOD. Um, excuse me but: not necessarily. It bugs me when a book gets hyped because of content, not good storytelling!

When publishers hype the book up and slap on “it’s better than…” labels, it immediately turn you off. Because how can this debut be better than an author who’s been writing for years, has credentials, and tons of published books?! Little upstart. Pfft.

Or worse it’s hyped as a “this is Divergent meets The Fault In Our Stars!” and when you read it: IT’S NOTHING LIKE EITHER OF THOSE. And you feel like the publisher just picked whatever is “hot” at the moment and falsely advertised.

Hype sometimes makes you read a book you wouldn’t otherwise be interested in, simple to make people STOP TELLING YOU TO READ IT. The whole “GAAASP how have you not read [insert hyped book here]…are you even a real bookworm?” is really frustrating sometimes. And this doesn’t bode well for you to like the book if you feel forced to read it.

My pros and cons lists ended up rather evenly split, didn’t they? Which you know what that means… It basically boils down to:

READ WHAT YOU WANT.

And that’s the simple truth!

But, especially if you’re a book blogger, you can’t really ignore the fact that some books get famously hyped.

For me personally? I actually don’t hate hype! I’m very much into discussing books and it’s easy to strike up a conversation if you’ve read the popular books everyone is talking about. I try not to let my expectations soar, though, and I don’t trust hyped books if it comes from publishers. But I DO trust it if the book is hyped bybloggers. When a blogger starts to rave…I listen.

Of course publisher hype vs blogger hype isn’t full proof. Because it’s all about who YOU are as a reader and your tastes. I know a zillion bloggers who’ll stand behind 13 Reasons Why with an army of flailing, enthusiastic orcs. I despised that book. And publishers really donned their astronaut suits to promote Illuminae and yet I loved it.

But as a general guideline: I trust reader hype over publisher hype.

And I don’t ignore hype! Because some books DO deserve the praise and it’s fun to join in the conversation.

how do you feel about hype?! are you likely to fall to it? tell me about a book where the hype was RIGHT and one where it was WRONG in your opinion. let us compare, humanoids!

Comments

Honestly? I’m fine with it because I tend to find out a book and then forgot about it for about six months until I spot it in a bookstore or library. Or I tend to find out about how a book was super hyped after I’ve already read it. I don’t know how I somehow manage to miss the massive hype, I just do.

I do wish that people would stop doing the “Hunger Games meets Fault in Our Stars meets Harry Potter meets X-Men” unless the book actually REALLY IS Hunger Games meets Fault in Our Stars meets Harry Potter meets X-Men.

I sometimes have to wait 6+ months for it to become available in the library, so by that time the hype is gone and the pressure is less. heehee. BUT YEAH THE COMPARATIVE TITLES, ARGH. They are like never right.

Most of my read books are not that popular. Sometimes when the books is released this month and then it gets all hype but I’ll just read it next year or next month. I sometimes avoid hyped books because I can always read or see a spoiler hahahaha. Great post Cait!

OKAY DO IT. As long as it has vegemite in it or something. OR CAKE. (Please do not say vegemite cake or I cannot talk to you.) Bahah! But you’re so right! It’s the fantasies that get hyped…except for TFIOS? And If I Stay. ILLUMINAE WAS GORGEOUS AND WORTH IT AND PAIN AND SUFFERING AND NO REGRETS.

Awesome list! I totally agree with you – reader hype is more trustworthy than publisher hype. But when it’s something like “for fans of *insert name of author/book*, I usually read the blurb. Then I decide if it really fits.

Hm, the hype about A Court of Thorns and Roses was right in my opinion. I really liked the book! But the book that really disappointed me was Shatter Me. I just didn’t really like the book or Juliette. Quite sad, because it seems to be a good series. 🙁

Hyped books. I’m not sure how I feel about them. In the end, if I’m being totally honest here, it gets me to buy the book because I have a sudden need to find out what all this talk is about but then I get scared I’ll get disappointed. What I do now, is to “notice” the book covers and the titles of the hyped books but read as little as possible what people say about it until I’ve actually read it. That way, I know there’s a buzz in the bookosphere but I don’t know what the buzz is about so I won’t get disappointed, which helps a lot.

I was disappointed with the Shatter Me series (well, I’ve only read book one so far) by Tahereh Mafi. I saw her lovely face everywhere (on blogs, on youtube, etc) and the beautiful new covers enchanted me but once I started reading the actual book….meh. I still don’t understand what was so great about it. It’s probably the only series I started reading and know I’ll never continue (along with Matched by Allie Condie come to think of it).

Rainbow Rowell. Basically everything she writes is amazing. I got to know her from book tubers and her books have been so hyped up I couldn’t resist buying them all at once without even knowing her! But I knew I’d love the stories she writes and I’m pleased to say she didn’t disappoint! I’m not always fond of her endings but she has a certain way of portraying her characters that I claim each new male character as my new book boyfriend and there’s always one character I can entirely identify myself with. Which is crazy.

SAME. The curiosity gets me. every. single. time. I JUST HAVE TO KNOW. Although there’s still a high chance I know I won’t like it. *heavy sigh* Matched didn’t work for me either, although I didn’t really see any hype for that? I think that happened before I was blogging. And I LOOOOOVE Fangirl! That must be one of my favourite books in the universe! <3

House of Hades left me feeling a bit disappointed, but I think that was because of how much I’d hyped it up myself. I thought Blood of Olympus, on the other hand, definitely lived up to the hype that all Rick Riordan books seem to create now…other people disagreed. With a lot of hyped books, I tend to be VERY late to the party. For example, I plan to read The Fault In Our Stars this year. I just didn’t see the appeal when it first came out. That and, when people tell me I have to read something, I can be incredibly stubborn. 😉

I’m kind of glad I read all the Riordan books AFTER the hype?!? hehe. So I was basically reading them in my own little world, but at least I could poke the fandom alive afterwards to chat, and I didn’t have all the expectations. XD Plus it is hard to do what one is told, right?! Pfffft. Much more fun to rebel. 😉

For me, hype doesn’t matter much but yeah when everybody is reading a particular book and raving good things about it, I definitely want to read it, But there are particular bloggers whose recommendations I trust the most because we have similar taste in books, so yeah… but mainly if I want to read that book because it appealed to me then I’m goona read it, hype or not. Loved this post Cait! 🙂 Oh and a very Haaaappy New Year!!

I think hype isn’t a great guide of whether I’ll like a book or not, because I’m a cranky curmudgeon with my own set of preferences like every other curmudgeon (I like that word), but it’s a good indication of what to check out. Wherever the hype comes from, there’s a reason for it.

I mean, I haven’t read hyped books like The Girl on the Train, because experience tells me I won’t enjoy hyped books from that genre. But YA books that’re hyped are often interesting!

I mean, I only follow the YA books so I really don’t know what else goes on in the world. 😂 hehe. BUT YEAH. I mean, I tend to be a very very tough reviewer these days? So that makes me less likely to love a hyped book for sure. But yeah. It’s most likely a 50/50 chance I’ll like the massively hyped books these days.

I COMPLETELY agree with everything in this post! Hype is both good and bad.
I began to read several book series because of the hype surrounding them, like The Hunger Games (this was before the movies), Twilight (again, before movie), Divergent (yet again, before the movie), The Mortal Instruments (I’ve just realised these all have movies…I discovered them before the movies)…and I loved all of them!

I can’t really think of any hyped books that have let me down off the top of my head…I’m sure there are some, I just can’t think of them right now.

YAYY! *hi fives* And I’m usually onboard with hype too?! Like those massively famous series? ME LIKEE. (Except I didn’t love Twilight, but I sure don’t loathe it either.) So I’m pretty 50/50 split on whether I’ll like a massively hyped book or not. *nods*

Love this post!
I’m generally ok with hype- I’m isolated enough that I can ignore the mainstream of hype it if I want to, and I trust the friends I have that if they’re all hyping it, it’s probably worth reading. And feeling like I’m the only one who hasn’t read X in a certain community has introduced me to some books I lovelovelove- Sanderson’s books and the Queen’s Thief series, for example.
However, I don’t always like hype because when the hype is among my friends and I’m not as big a fan of the book as they are, I do sometimes feel like there’s maybe something wrong. Resistance by Jaye L. Knight, for example. A lot of my friends on Blogger/Goodreads love the book to the point of screaming-sobbing-fangirling. But . . . I didn’t. It was a good book, but it didn’t sweep me off my feet like I expected. (The sequel was better, thankfully, and did live up to the hype for the most part.)

Great observation on reader hype vs. publisher hype. That actually makes a lot of sense. Still though I really do hate hype. I am one of those readers that will shelve a book for a couple months and get around to it when the hype has died down. Then comes the game of avoiding spoilers like the plague. Somehow though I have been tremendously lucky with avoiding spoilers (great, I probably jinxed myself…) Anyways I appreciate the pro/con list and obviously, they are pretty evenly split. Like you said read what you want and at the end of the day all we’re hoping for is a good book. So whether it was hyped and sucked or hyped and amazing it all adds to the experience of it and for that I’ll always be thankful.

Agh, avoiding spoilers is really the hardest part. *collapses* Plus people seem to think if a book is famous it’s okay to tell everyone who died? I MEAN IT IS NOT. Gah. Humans. *ahem* Aww, I’m glad you liked my list! I like making lists like this. hehe.

I’m okay with hype, but it usually doesn’t affect my expectations too much for some reason. I’ll see a book that a lot of people are talking about, whether it’s hyped by bloggers or by the publisher, and I’ll usually add it to my TBR even if it’s not something that I’d usually pick up. Even so, I’m not expecting it to blow me away.

I read We Were Liars entirely because of the hype, and I loved it. On the other hand, I read the Just One Day duology both because of the hype AND because I really liked the If I Stay duology, but I was pretty disappointed by those.

I don’t really know what’s my opinion to hype because I haven’t read the Divergent trilogy precisily becuase of it. Everybody on Goodreads and among my blogger friends were talking about it and practically they were shoving it down my throat and my instant reaction was No. On the other hand, sometime it doesn’t bother me that much and it gets quite exited for the book. Then again I could be dissapointed. But I agree with you and I don’t trust when publisher is hyping a book, because I once felt for that and was extremely dissapointed.
But I must say I like the hype about Colleen Hoover’s books. There’s no way that woman could dissapoint me so in this case it gets me ready to read her novel and I’m even more excited.
All in all, I think I like discovering new books more. I like digging through those that are not hyped and almost no one knows about them so I can bring them to light and recommend them to everybody. And if they like it, I feel really good about myself. But generally, hype is good because, as you said, it can make you read something new, but there is the risk of high expectations. But interesting post because I’ve never really think about hype around books. 🙂

I totally get that. 😉 I hate being told to “GO DO THIS” too, it kind of makes me want to do the opposite? So yeah. Hype can backfire like that! I mostly follow it though because…curiosity. I do like hyping up underrated books myself too, and recommending them ALL over the place. Although it gets lonely? Because no one has read them. *heavy sigh*

I ACTUALLY LOVE THE HYPE. I mean, it helps me discover new books that could POTENTIALLY be my next favorite reads! And YES, reading the same books as the same time as everyone else and DISCUSSING books with everyone! <3 Although, yes, there's always the risk of books not meeting your expectations, but that's the risk with all books, really.

DISCUSSING IS SO FUN I CANNOT EVEN BASICALLY. *dances wildly* I love how the blogosphere can accidentally turn into a book club all because of hype and wildly recommending books!! It’s incredible and exciting. 😀

I will most probably just read a book is my friend flings it at me to read it.

BECAUSE HEY. a) I don’t have to spend money and buy the books b) I prefer print over e books, I usually only read super hyped books on e readers, and c) FREE BOOK. And I will most probably love it because a few people have good taste and my friend is one of them. (You are the other. I will most likely read a book if you recommend it heuheu.)

Aww, I’m honoured to be someone whose recommendations you trust. LIKE ERMAGERD. LET ME JUST TAKE A MOMENT. *HUGS YOU* Ahem. anyway, I totally get with preferring print too *nods* And basically if I don’t get and ARC of it, I really don’t get to read ALL the massively hyped books. Monies. Gah. I need to get a gold mine.

Interesting topic! Obviously you are “an ancient octopus” (direct quote from you) who reads many many books and therefore are wise in the ways of hype. Sad to say I read average 1 book per week and therefore I’m generally scrambling to catch up. As in, I bought We Were Liars last month and plan to read it soon. THAT’S HOW BEHIND I AM. Heck, I read Anna and the French Kiss LAST YEAR! Throne of Glass, not until April! I’ve still not touched TMI, Grisha, Lunar chronicles or Daughter of Smoke and Bone (does that trilogy have a name, by the way? Cause it takes forever to type. And I’m constantly mentioning it as an example of a popular book I’ve not read. Damn, I should just read it, shouldn’t I?). So yes, I do respond to hype, but usually approx 3 years later.

And yes I am an ancient octopus, omg, where is my walking stick? I basically do read books on top of the hype but not ALWAYs, particularly if Australia isn’t publishing it and I can’t get a free copy. 😛 But yes, omg, you are behind with We Were Liars there. ;D I hope you like it! IT’S PRETTY WILD.

I’ve had quite a lot of experience with books that were hyped by readers. I feel like they are helpful because i usually like the hyped books. After i read it, i had so many people to talk about it because it’s popular. But i too, have been disappointed by the hype, when it happens, i feel like i was wasting my money on something that i don’t really love because of people’s suggestions, but ultimately it was my choice too. I think book hype is not that bad. It’s more helpful and fun to me.

I JUST WROTE A REALLY LONG COMMENT AND IT DIDN’T POST AND I AM SO ANNOYED AJSHGDVFBCNXMJASHDBFN MSJDHBF NXSZJHDB.

I basically ranted and said book hype is good to bring books to people’s attention so they can then decide whether to read them or not but i hate how they then become the only books people talk about e.g when Buzzfeed does a list of books you MUST read they’re always the hyped books. It’s not fair to the authors with amazing books that are strangely under hyped e.g Blood Red Road.

OMG I AM SO SORRY. *glare at blog for disappointing you like this* But thanks for re-commenting then. 😉 AREN’T YOU THE NICEST OF EVER.

Omg and I’m so glad you listed Blood Red Road as an amazing book. :’) I LOVE THAT ONE SO MUCH. <3 And it's totally underrated. (Although the last book totally broke my heart. WHAH. Still not okay.) And I think it's unfair when books get labelled "Will change your life!" but they're really not spectacular. Boo.

I fell victim to this with Red Queen. It was way over hyped and I was seeing it everywhere. I expected it to be really good and ended up not liking it at all. I do realize there are a lot of people that enjoyed it, and that’s great. But I felt like it fell short of my expectation. Also, it was described as a cross between Hunger Games and X-Men. No. No it’s not.

And Idk if you know of Attack on Titan, but the back of the manga says it’s Japan’s version of The Walking Dead. Also a big no there. I wish they would stop trying to piggy back other works. (Attack on Titan is amazing, by the way. Just some fan hype there for ya.)

Agh, same with me with Red Queen. and the sequel is getting the same crazy treatment and I just want to cover my eyes basically. Not that the book was bad! I just…don’t think it deserves the hype because it’s not original at all? Hmm.

I don’t avoid a book because it’s hyped. A lot of books that have hype have interesting concepts and sound really good and I will read a hyped book if it sounds like something I’d enjoy but I do get scared reading a hyped book because WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE IT. It’s like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, EVERYBODY was going on about how much they loved it and then when I read it I expected this absolutely amazing book but by the end of the book I asked, “Is that it?” – I was so disappointed because I just didn’t love it like I was hoping to. But a lot of the times books do live up to the hype for me, such as The Fault in Our Stars, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and various others. So I think hype is a good thing as it promotes the author and the book and you can make a lot of friends by joining into the fandom (if you like it), but it can also be bad as it heightens a lot of people’s expectations and publishers might promise it to be something that it’s not but I don’t think it’s too bad!

I totally get that!! It’s like people make it sound like it’s written out of gold, but…when you get to it? It’s just not doing it for you. SO YEAH I DO GET THAT. I had the same with Eleanor and Park (although I loved Fangirl a lot). But hype really does great things for authors, so I can’t begrudge that at all!

I wouldn’t think book hype is all that bad either. I don’t really let it get to me much. When I see people hyping over a book, sure I’ll check it out on goodreads and read the summary. If it sounds pretty good, then I might try it out sometime. If it doesn’t, then I won’t.

Basically, book hypes just grabs my attention over a book to check it out if it’s for me or not. If I liked it, then I’ll be one of those other fangirls who’re flailing their books in the air and screaming at how much it’s so good to everyone on the street. If it’s bad, well, I’ll be honest with it to my friends when they talk to me about the book.

I just watched Hercules yesterday and “That’s the Gospel Truth” started playing in my head with your reference. NOT a bad thing xD

Overall, I really agree with you on hype. I don’t read so much as to keep up with a lot of new releases, which are more commonly super-hyped than back list books (unless we’re talking about series getting popular because the latest book is being released, which applies to a ton of them). I think my favorite part of hype is definitely being able to talk to someone about it, because, as you said, whether you love it or hate it, there’s someone out there who feels the same. They shouldn’t be hard to find, either, because the book is massively popilar. I can’t say, though, that I’ve been really disappointed by hype, so I may just be optimistic.

HERCULES IS THE BEST. I mean, the muses are the best. 😂 And also Phil. AHEM. BUT YEAH. The talking and discussion is totally the best part of hype, and being able to connect wtih someone by just saying “Oh yeah I read that too” makes a good conversation starter. ;D

Hype is a bit of a strange phenomenon, isn’t it? I have kind of a love hate relationship with it. Without all the hype surrounding it, I would never have read Throne of Glass, or The Lunar Chronicles (which was blogger hype, not publisher hype). However, I do feel that lately I’m mostly reading hyped books, since I want to “keep up”, in a way, and don’t get around to books that my marvellous but aren’t that hyped (another problem: how do I even find good books that are flying under the radar?). So, hype can be useful, but sometimes gets in the way of finding new books too? I guess? Hmm. Difficult!

I think publisher hype and book blogger hype aren’t necessarily two different things. I mean I get what you mean when you say you trust other bloggers more than publishers, but if publishers throw a lot of money at marketing a book, more book bloggers are going to read it too. So I guess I trust bloggers who I know have a somewhat similar taste over publishers? And of course sometimes you discover these GREAT books no one has ever heard of and then you start to question everything, because maybe I should be reading less of the well known books and branch out more often!??

I completely agree that it can be awesome to read a book everyone seems to have read because then you’ll have people to talk about! I LOVE that. I have to admit that books sometimes get on my nerves when I see them everywhere and then I turn into a teenage rebel and go NO I WON’T READ IT YOU CAN’T MAKE ME. …Then I read when the hype’s died down slightly.

I did NOT like Throne of Glass much and everyone else did, and my Divergent books annoyed me so much I gave them away. When I didn’t like a book and then I have to see it everywhere it can get a bit annoying, but I also LOVED a lot of hyped books and probably wouldn’t have read them otherwise. I try not to read books that don’t sound interesting to me just because I keep hearing about them, because I probably won’t like them. I do love it when people get excited about books though, so I don’t really mind the hype.

Hmm…that’s true too. I totally get that. Although I’ll see TONS of bloggers reading the same book because publishers have given out tons of ARCs…but not necessarily loving it. So I still trust that a lot. *nods* And I do see people hyping up books that publishers haven’t done a lot with! I’m not sure if The Wrath and the Dawn was really pushed by the publishers? I barely ever saw people reading ARCs and things. I felt that was mostly blogger pushed!

hehe, I kinda hate being TOLD to read a book. 😂 So I get it!

Zomg, I’m joining you in the Throne of Glass hater corner. *sigh* I mean I freaking LOVED the first books and then freaking hated the latest two, so yup. Gonna sit here and be cranky now.

I have only recently fallen prey to book hype… Before I joined bookstagram (Wahooo for mutual flailing and fangirling about online and having people to do it WITH!! So. Much. Wahooo.) I didn’t really buy in to hype. I’m a rebel I tell ya… In sheer defiance I would ignore books that were in the spotlight until I decided to read them… Or until a friend forced me… But even then, I drug my feet about it. I just don’t like my reading experience to be anyone else’s. It’s MINE… My own,.. My PRECIOUS! And I shall not have anyone trying to tell me how to live my life!! Ooook… So all that to say that this year I actually willingly read 2 VERY hyped books by the general nerdy population and I. Loved. Them. It was fun! I enjoyed reading something during a “peak time” in its popularity. Usually I’m the breathless, fat unicorn that comes in 3 years later saying things like “hey I just read Twilight, let’s discuss it!” But now I’m up with the shiny sparkly unicorns on a few books and it’s been fun!

SO MACH WAHHOOO I TOTALLY AGREE. I love bookstagram. And just the book blogging community in general. SO MANY PEOPLE READY TO BE FRIENDS. *happy sigh* I read a fair few hyped books last year and it was kind of 50/50 whether I liked them or not? I honestly try not to let their popularity influence my opinion though, but it IS the reason I’ll pick them up. XD

As a rule for me, if it’s popular, I don’t like it (unless I liked it before it was popular, such as plaid/flannel shirts). BUT if all my bloggling buddies are hyped about it, I will often times try it. And that is the rule of Alyssa.

Your pros and cons are so accurate, Cait. Sometimes I read a book that everyone likes and I do not get it. But then, I read something like Carry On, which admittedly isn’t the best written book in the world, but the community made it AMAZING. Everything is better when you can squeal about it with someone else.

EEEEP thanks, Emily! *happy dance* I had a lot of fun with this post. hehe. And I actually have Carry On to read soon and I’m totally nervous about it. 😛 BUT FULL OF FOOD?! Okay that appeases my fears completely.😂

Your comment about books being hyped due to subject matter rather than quality content reminded me of something that’s always annoyed me: hype because of the the background or personal life of the author. I mean, I GET hyping a book by a particular author if they’ve written great stuff in the past, but as you said, sometimes it’s just “filling a hole in the book world.” And sometimes a unique author fills a hole too. To use your example of a blind, asexual protagonist, imagine how much hype there would be if the AUTHOR fit that description. I feel like in an attempt to be diverse and inclusive, the publishing world is reducing authors down to categories and labels. I actually read a post recently about a blogger who said she was going to refuse to read anything by cis white males for an entire year. I couldn’t believe it! I get that she wants to include diverse authors, but deliberately excluding books just because their authors aren’t considered diverse enough? It’s just the same problem in different clothing.

Agh, yes, I totally know what you mean. Like I do feel that diverse authors get more hype than anyone else, and I don’t think it’s fair either. And omg EXACTLY!! They’re putting us in boxes and saying if you’re this sexuality or this colour or have this illness/disability then your book is better…and that doesn’t seem right. NOT AT ALL. And I do see people bashing books because of the author being white or whatnot and I hate that. It’s so wrong. Why aren’t we looking at the ART, peoples!?!?

I agree with you, I believe in reader hype more than in the publisher one. I guess publishers often base hype on the number of sold books, which is clearly not the ultimate artistic quality criteria (should I mention Fifty Shades of Grey?).

Sometimes authors whose books you appreciate also have great tips for books that they post on Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

Besides, when a book has a lot of hype, filmmakers are more likely to adapt it into a movie, which is great for people who loved the book in the first place (when it’s not a third-rate film, of course) and makes more people read the book (when they enjoy the movie or think the trailer is interesting and want to read the book first), so hype has its positive aspects.

(sorry if there are mistakes in my comment, English is not my first language)

AGH. Yes. Totally try. And I think publishers hype up books they think will do well…so if a book even remotely resembles the Hunger Games…they explode it. Even though that bothers me so much. Because if we’ve already read the Hunger Games, why do we want to read another version?! ARGHHH.

But omg yes there are SO MANY perks for books that get hyped up! Movie deals and lots of sales and a fandom to start with. ;D

Oh your English is amazing! It’s better than mine and English is my ONLY language. 😂)

Yes that’s exactly it, like after Twilight when a thousand books about vampires were suddenly published just because there was a vampire and a forbidden love story in the plot. And there were so many that people are not interested anymore. And now the exact same thing is happening with the Hunger Games and clearly we’re getting tired of it as well. I wonder what’s gonna be the next book that most publishers will want to throw at us for the next two or three years…

Yeah, and I suppose it’s even better when you live in the UK or the US or Australia because when there’s hype there are also signings and events and premieres with casts and you can talk about books with friends and so on. I’d honestly love to have the same things in France, because it’s so much more difficult to feel the hype and the excitement that drives the readers’ community.
So when in class I have to make a paper in English about “Internet: friend or foe?” (which is inevitable in France. I feel like I have to answer this exact question every year) I say “You’ve got a friend in meeeee” because it’s the only way for me to take advantage of the hype (also, when I read a hyped book that I don’t like, I can say “Oh, these Americans” and say it’s not my fault if it’s hyped when it’s not supposed to be. This technique never gets old).

Thank you, reading books in English really helps! Well, at least you’ve never had to write a paper in a foreign language about Internet then 😛

I’m not a fan of hyped books. Mainly due to the wrong advertising and the fact that as a blogger I KNOW that sometimes publishers just bribe people into hyping books regardless of whether they’re actually good or not. I’ve actually stopped buying books altogether because of this. I just don’t feel like I can genuinely trust hypes anymore.

I mean, I guess people are paid to be marketing too? Which makes sense, it’s their job! And I don’t blame them. I just personally am going to stick to bloggers who are brutally honest. I find if people are brutally honest about some books, then the books they love are VERY likely to be excellent. ;D

This is a really great post, and the points you make at the end are so spot on! I love this post!

I’m mostly a pretty big fan of hype. I’m an individual reader, yes, but I enjoy perhaps 70% of the books I read. So when a hyped book comes along, I am desperate to read it for myself, and when I do, more often than not, I am completely WOWED! The odd occassion when I’m not, I’m so frustrated I’m almost angry, haha! “THIS BOOK IS SO, SO BAD! HOW DO SO MANY PEOPLE LOVE IT?!” But I’m mostly pro hype! It does make me read books I might not have read otherwise, so that’s pretty awesome 🙂

I didn’t understand the hype around The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell, which felt really young. Or Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway which was kind of meh to me. These are the only two I can think of right now. Most of the others I have looooved.

I have a few things to say RE your point about books being hyped for reasons other than being good stories. But I think it might make a good blog post. You will be credited for inspiration and I will link back to this post! 🙂

AWww, thanks Jo! *commences happy dance* I AM SO SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT! 😀 And yay for being pro-hype…it’s definitely easier and happier to be that way, hey?!? I tend to be more disappointed by hype than not?! But sometimes I’m absolutely 100% for it, so I can’t stop just in case I miss something delicious!

I don’t let hype make my expectations skyrocket to the moon… usually. If it’s a book by an author I’ve already read and loved, chances are I’ll ride the hype bandwagon to an extent. Otherwise, I keep an open mind, WANTING the book to be amazing, but not necessarily going into it saying THIS IS GOING TO BE THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD. I’ve been let down by hype before and it’s not fun, so I’ve learned to chill and just watch the hype from afar.

YES THAT IS A GOOD WAY TO DO THIS!! I try to do that too…although I usually get waaaaaay too excited even when I tell myself not to. hehh. But I get let down by hype a lot? Which is so hard to be the black sheep all the time!

BECAUSE CAIT HYPE IS NEVER WRONG, CLEARLY. Except for City of Bones. hahhahahah. But I shall shush now. 😛 And yes, the reader vs publisher is definitely different. *nods sagely* And as much as I love Epic Reads, I feel like they don’t often hype the good books…so yeah. >_< I tend to not listen to paid companies at all. Hipster me. 😛 JUST KIDDING.

I’m usually really behind the big, hyped books these days. I just don’t have time! So yeah, I don’t read that many just because I don’t have the time to fit them in but in general, I’ll go with something that sounds good to ME, you know? It can be super hyped but if it’s this huge epic fantasy? I don’t know about that…not really my thing. But like you said, I trust blogger hype way more than publisher hype. I think publisher hype can really hurt a book more than blogger hype does because people DO NOT always want to believe the publisher hype or that such and such book is like all these other popular books. It’s like “probably not…moving on…” and that’s not fair to the author. Yea, if that makes sense…haha

Gah, time! I totally get that. 😛 There are a ton of hyped books from 2015 I didn’t get to…majorly A Darker Shade of Magic and Carry On. OOOPS. bUT I SHALL SOON. 😛 And yes I think the publisher hype has been wrong too much for us to ever really trust it, right?! It must suck to be a hired for marketing in publishing. XD

I generally don’t dislike hype. As in the case of reader hype, it can’t really be helped. Because when multiple readers get excited about a certain book, well, they get EXCITED! And even if people have read the book and were disappointed by the hype, they’ve still read it and can still intelligently add to the universal discussion of the book. They can say what turned them away from the book, which may be one aspect all the “hypers” aren’t addressing.

At the same time though, I’ve been disappointed by the hype multiple times. Like The Fault in Our Stars. Also, hypes made me curious to read books like The Hunger Games which I absolutely adore.

I do agree with you when a book is judged only by content. What about the story-telling? What about the writing style? I mean, sure I didn’t much like TFiOS, but I loved John Green’s style. A poorly written book shouldn’t get hyped over it’s content choice. The hype tends to insult good writers in an off-handed way when we glorify content over excellent craftsmanship.

It’s really sad when the poorly written books just shoot to stardom because of content not, like, talent. SIGH. It kinda proves sometimes it doesn’t matter HOW you write so long as you do what the people want?!? Which is depressing for we writers trying to write a really good book, eh?! GAh. Life is hard. LIIIIIFE. *ahem*

I admit I give in to hype in terms of what books to add to my TBR. Like you said, I love the book discussions that come out of it. Because, let’s face it, it is a lot more fun if more people are talking about a book you read than not.

I’m often late to the hype party when it comes to actually reading books. And when I do, I’d say it is 50/50 on whether or not they live up to the hype. It really depends on the book and what expectations I have set-up going in. If it is a book that I’ve hyped up for myself (like Red Queen last year) I avoid all reviews and discussions about it prior to my reading so I go in fresh and open-minded.

YES IT IS SO MUCH MORE FUN!! It’s like a world wide bookclub nearly. xD And I think it can bring people together, whether you like or dislike the book?! Because we bookworms do like to talk about our books. hehe.

I want this chocolate brownie cheesecake you speak up. That better not be made up because you will crush my heart! (;
I only listen to hype from other bloggers or reviewers. If a ridiculous amount of people love this book, who am I to say otherwise? Now, there are hyped books by reviewers and then they turn out not to be my thing. I get so disappointed but it does happen. You are never going to like everything. I do sometimes just hype books on my own. If a book has a great synopsis, hasn’t come out yet, and there isn’t much talk about it I’ll still hype it in my head. It’ll go crazy if there are a bunch of five star reviews later on. And then there are some books that isn’t getting that much attention but I know in my heart that this is my type of read. I really hope that comes true with My Faire Lady.
The hype was so wrong for Perfect Chemistry. I just roll my eyes whenever I think of that book!
The hype was so right for The Shatter Me series and the Raven Boys. Those two series make hyped books worth trying.
Happy New Year by the way 😀

IT IS GORGEOUS. IT IS NOT MADE UP. I am consuming it in a week, actually, and I shall share gorgeous pictures as I do because FOOD IS LIFE. <3 Ahem. Buuuuut anyway. ;D And so true: we're never going to love everything. Which is a really good thing! But makes the whole process of hyping up a book really easy to fail, right? Gah.

I think I must live under a rock….I very rarely seem to notice the ‘hype’. One thing that does drive me mad is when on the back it claims to be ‘the new Twilight’, or ‘Pride and Prejudice’ meets ‘The Hunger Games’. I am not looking for a ‘new’ Twilight, or a weird mash up. Just let me read the book and the story that the author is trying to tell.

I always feel annoyed on the author’s behalf – if I’ve written a book I don’t want people to think of another story first! And why should it be directly compared from the start! And what if they have compared it to a book you hate!? ALL the rage. I imagine it’s a decision made by the marketing people, but I am still cross.

I used to get sucked in by hype, but now I’ve become jaded and cranky and very, very wary. That’s not to say that hyped books can’t be good. Of course they can! But sometimes there are those ones that leave you scratching your head and saying, “Huh?”

Let’s see… one book where the hype was right is probably Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall. It got a ton of hype around the blogosphere when it came out, and I really wanted to read it, but I was kind of worried. I didn’t really need to be, though; I loved it. (It’s still one of my favourite YA books ever.)

One book where the hype was (IMO) wrong is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I totally got sucked into the hype for that one, and I really wanted to love it. I thought I would love it! I bought the hardback and everything because I was so excited to read it. But it turned out to be a big fat dud for me. Oh, well.

AGREED. I have so many books I have no idea why are crazily hyped…and then I see them get picked up for movies and all I can think is “whyyyyy”. So yeah. It does make me a bit nervous about hype books? But I can’t deny I STILL GOTTA TRY THEM. I’m addicted. hehe.

“It bugs me when a book gets hyped because of content, not good storytelling!”
YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES. I see that sooooooooooo much and I die inside every time. Because with some books it is amazing! And then some…no. it isn’t. They had an amazing idea, sure, but that doesn’t mean the execution is perfect.

I tend to read what I want, hype or no hype. I trust you, when you hype a book. I most always put it on my list. that is due to your impeccable taste, I think publishers should stop making promises, it’s the cause of disappointment. Maybe they should try ‘You might like this’.

AWWW, THANKS SKYE. *dances* And I think maybe because I’m such a tough reviewer that when I do like a book it’s easier to trust me?!? OR SOMETHING IDEK. WHAT AM I SAYING. hehh. But yes! I think comparative titles can be good, but I don’t like the “it’s better than [insert famous book here]” kind of things. It’s just setting up for disappointment.

I think there is a big different between readers hype and publishers hype. Yeah of course, sometimes the Hype can be really annoying. But instead of that I really like it and think that a book hype can be a good thing. I’m not one of the persons, going to a bookstore and search for a book which lookes interessting. I know which books I want to read and which not before I go bookshopping. Because I know something about the books. I like it to have so many opinions about the book, so this helps me and so the hype is a good thing for me 😀

AGREED! I think there’s a huge difference too!! I do like it how there will be tons of reviews for hyped books around, and like you said, it’s easier to know what to buy or borrow. XD So that’s nice and helpful! 😛

It’s an interesting topic, and I think your pros and cons were spot on. I’m actually for book hype. I think it’s a good thing for us as readers, and for the publishers to do. If it wasn’t for book hype there would be so many books that I wouldn’t have heard of. And I know I’m not the only one. Writers work for years to write the books that are published and that should always be celebrated and shouted out to everyone. Disappointment is always going to be a problem….but I guess I can justify it.
Now what I do dislike is Hollywood movie hype. I think it’s ridiculous considering as most of their movies suck. I end up hating/being disappointed/feeling ”meh” about 90% of their movies. I wish we could get more hype for Indie and foreign films, were are so so so much better. And I feel those movies mean more, they aren’t just being put out for the cash, but because someone had a story to tell. I’m always for the person with something to say. 😀

Aww, thanks, Abi! 😛 I do love me a post that’s a list. 😉 AND SAME. I don’t think I’m opposed to it at all! Although I wish MORE books got hyped? because I get tired of seeing the same few over and over and while it’s good publicity, I wish there was more you know?! hehe For options sake.

Yes. Lists are great. 😀 Agreed. And I do dislike when someone tries to hype up a book by comparing it to a couple of other really popular books. I want to read a book because it has a spark not because it’s like another book.

I’m close to someone who staunchly hates hype, expecting that people will be blinded by the idea that a book is great, so they’ll review it greatly when, if it wasn’t hyped, it would have been an average read. Personally, I’ve never really been disappointed in a hype book, and they’re actually the whole reason I started blogging! I just want to read things that are amazing.

Ah, I guess people feel pressured into “liking” hype books so they’re not a black sheep?! I mean, I don’t. XD I feel like I’m always the black sheep!! But I do agree that the pressure is there. And some fandoms can be rabid. *gulps*

I am a type a person – I avoid hyped books. Mostly because these always seem to be YA, and I want something different. I also don’t always trust review tours because of what was a 3 star policy, and I’ve seen several tour organizers now change their policies to 4 or 5 stars only….which is why I don’t rate books on my blog.

Agh, I don’t much like tours either!! I’ve done a few and it’s so constricting…because you really ARE required to be positive about the book since it’s a tour. And that doesn’t lend itself to complete brutal honesty (which is what I like in reviews!)

I definitely mistrust hype. A lot, actually. I AM A SCAREDY CAT WHEN IT COMES TO HYPE, OKAY? There are so many hyped books I have yet to read, and I actually think I have read less of them now that I am blogging. I guess because I see real, honest reviews of the books that help me decide what I actually want to read–which isn’t always the books everyone else is reading! Loved the pros and cons list!

This is such a tricky question, because I LOVE pushing my favorite books on people, being excited about books with people, etc. But at the same time, when everyone is talking about the how amazing a book is every single day for months before a book comes out, it kind of takes away the magic, you know? That definitely happened with QoS and ACOTAR (although I wouldn’t have liked those books anyway). I also don’t like the “X meets Y” descriptions, because they’re just for publicity and rarely accurate. In the case of Simon vs., though, the hype was definitely not exaggerated, much to my relief!

AGREED. heheh. I see Truthwitch and Passenger every. where. I. go. And right now it’s getting to be a little frustrating. XD I feel like they’re in my face? I will read them…because…I read everything. 😛 But I do feel told to. And I don’t like being told what to do. (So weird of me…) And YES Simon VS is the perfect example of good hype!

I actually really want to read Truthwitch, despite the hype, and my library HASN’T ORDERED IT. I feel so betrayed. I already have Passenger on hold, though. I know what you mean about feeling like you’re being told what to do. It definitely makes me not want to read things, haha.

I’m very sceptical of hype, but I’ll probably get round to reading the book (eventually). I think, somehow, I trust hyped books more than I do obscure books I’ve never heard of before which is absolutely ridiculous because some of my best books are widely unheard of. Yet half of those best books are hyped books. You’re right Cait, let’s all just read what we want.

I like it when books are hyped for the right reason because then I can read them and like you said DISCUSS. Possibly with humans I know outside of the interweb because even they have read it. I don’t like how hype can get me super excited for a book and make me get my hopes up that it will be ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICAL and then it lets me down. I think there are definitely ups and downs to hype so I just try not to get influenced too much by it (in fear of being let down).

yESSSS. AGREED ABSOLUTELY. And ti’s so fun to discuss books! Whether it’s because we love ’em or hate ’em…it’s still interesting to talk right?! And hype books DO get a lot of people reading the same books XD

I don’t mind hype. Honestly I quite like it, because it gets me excited for a book, and hype is usually the only reason I stray away from the fantasy section at the library… I will openly admit, the very few contemporaries I have read, are 100% only because of the hype they received, I have never chosen one of my own accord… Also if I end up liking the book I have tons of people to squeal about it with! If I don’t like the book, chances are, a bunch of other people don’t either! I’m probably not alone!

The only thing I purely despise about hype, is when people who read one book a year. ONE FREAKING BOOK A YEAR judge you for not reading that book. Like actually…. WHAT EVEN!!!!!!!! It bothers me so much, like its one of my pet peeves. Just because they read [insert book here] doesn’t make them an instant bookworm, it doesn’t make them better than anyone else, it honestly just proves what a follower they are… I will control my rage now. I’m sorry, being a dragon, it is quite easy for me to get mad. kidding, I’m not a dragon…. I think….

Zomg are you a fantasy lover?! ME TOOOOO. FANTASY FTW I SAY! *ahem* Although I will read copious other genres, but my heart belongs to fantasy. hehe. And I totally read books purely for hype. I want to know WHY. Which I guess is the marketing ploy?!?😂

Pfft, you do not need to hide your dragon heritage from me. EMBRACE THE SCALES AND FIRE AND WINGS.

SAME. It’s like 50/50 for me, and mostly depends on whether I like that style of book and not necessarily whether everyone is loving it or not. XD I don’t feel pressured to love it? But sometimes…gah, sometimes the expectations do ruin it for me. *nods*

Oh gosh, I looked at the con about publishers hyping a book and I almost foamed at the mouth I agreed so much. I remember when I picked up “the girl on the train” which was likened to “Gone Girl”. I read that book, and not only was it nothing like gone girl, I couldn’t figure out why people liked it. Whenever the book comes up I nearly jump out of my skin to warn people that it isn’t like gone girl.

Buuuuuttt in the same vein, I’ve found a lot of books I enjoyed because the publishers did that stuff. So I feel very at odds with it. I’m fine with it when it’s accurate and it helps people find books like the one they read and liked. But when the only similarity is the genre, it makes me crazy

I haaaate when they wrongly say “this book is like this book” because, when is it ever right?!? GAHHH. I don’t mind if I see a blogger doing comparative titles? Because I feel like they’ll be honest. But I know publishers have gotta sell the book…but I think they do more damage be making us expect something we’re not going to get!!

Hype is weird for me. Sometimes it turns me off of a book. Sometimes I am already excited and the hype just feeds into it. I have been burned by hype and also felt that the hype was much deserved. I don’t let it bother me either way.Just a fact of a bookworm’s life right?

Honestly? I don’t mind with hype surrounding a certain books. I’m a moody reader, so if I’m not in a mood to read something, no matter how hyped up that book is, I still won’t read it (ex: lux series by JLA. I added it to my tbr on goodreads, but up until this point I haven’t feel any real desire to actually read it). I love it when the book lives up to the hype (ex: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo) but I feel really cheated by EVERYONE when it doesn’t live up to my expectations (ex: Red Queen. WHY? It’s nothing special for me atleast) But yeah, I guess hype doesn’t really affects me as a reader. It all comes down to our own reading choices and preferences, like no matter how hyped up a book is, if we don’t have any desire to read them, than we better don’t. If we don’t want to read them but we read them bc of the hyped…. well… I guess we’ll be dissapointed!

Yayyy for Six of Crows. XD That book was INCREDIBLE. AFJDKLSAD I NEED LIKE A MILLION MORE OF THEM. *ahem* But yes. I felt especially cheated by Red Queen because I think it copies a million other books and doesn’t even seem different?? Gah. That one makes no sense. But SO TRUE. It’s so subjective and depends on our reading tastes!!

I’m super skeptical about publisher hype, but I love a great publicity campaign as a student journalist and (hopefully) future communications major. Still, I definitely trust reader hype over publisher hype, especially if I’m seeing a lot of glowing reviews from close blogger friends. If I’m not reading an ARC or a book I’ve been waiting on FOREVER, I usually wait for the hype to die down a bit before I grab a copy.
I read The Raven Boys before I started blogging, so I didn’t face the hype surrounding it, but The Raven Cycle is hella amazing and totally deserves the hype. I would cut off a foot of my hair for any Maggie Stiefvater book (and I looooove having long hair). Marie Lu’s books also deserve the hype. And Huntley Fitzpatrick. And Emery Lord.
If I Stay fell flat for me. Everyone talked about how it’s so bitterweet and wonderful and made them cry. It kinda bored me, to be honest. MEH.

I sometimes feel like if you don’t get onboard with hype ASAP, someone will spoil the book?? Do you ever get that? IT’S FRUSTRATING. GAh. But yeah, sometimes it is better to wait for the hype to wan and then it’s not so much pressure. xD SAME!! I read The Raven Boys back when it first came and and not that many people seemed to be into Maggie Stiefvater? #hipster 😛

I never really worry about having a book spoiled if I don’t jump on the hype asap. In general, the book blogging community seems to have this moral obligation to stay spoiler free, or at least to give clear warnings when they post something spoilery. Spoilers are a pet peeve of mine, so I only follow people on Twitter who respect that and keep spoilers in their DMs. Even one spoilery tweet is enough to make me unfollow. BUH-BYE FELICIA! Tumblr isn’t a friendly place to stay spoiler-free, but It’s not impossible. Muting certain tags is pretty effective.

Yeah, #hipsters! I also read Throne of Glass before the hype, but it didn’t wow me. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll like it more with a reread. Maybe I was just not in a good mood when I read it or something? Have you ever felt like that?

I feel like i’m part of the hype problem. when it comes to hype, i usually do a lot to promote a book i love which is part of the problem. like for six of crows? omg i could not shut up about that book and i’ve rec-d it to so many people i have no idea if i’ve let anyone down.

weirdly, hype does bother me sometimes. i’m not good at listening to it and sometimes, if i get too much, i’ll actually refsue to read the book – i’m a rebel like that. like for passenger by bracken. i’m like “it sounds great” but the hype is scaring the crap out of me lol

Pfffft. THAT IS NOT A PROBLEM. THAT IS AN AWESOME THING. XDXD I love when people just recommend books all the time, because it makes me really desperate to get on in the excitement! YOU ARE AWESOME, NOVA. I AM JUST SAYIN’.

Have you seen the hype for Truthwitch? I feel like I get smacked in the face with it EVERY TIME I go on twitter. omg. *collapses*

I feel the same. I don’t hate hype. I more hate when a book doesn’t live up to that hype or feels like it doesn’t deserve the hype. But I love reading hyped books because I know that, once I’ve finished it, I will be able to find a ton of people to discuss it with. And discussing books is my favourite thing. I like how hype can divide people. You despised 13 Reasons Why, I didn’t love it but I thought it was okay. Loads of people loved Red Queen and hyped it beyond all belief… I despised it and thought it was wholly undeserving of the hype it received because it was essentially a worse executed version of a million different other YA books rolled into one. Sorry… I am still mad about that haha.

I especially hate the comparisons though or saying it is better than something else. NOPE. Never declare it as better. Don’t slap that on the front of the book like it’s a fact. Not a fact, it’s your opinion as a publisher who is trying to sell the crap out of it. If something is instantly declaring it is better than something else then it immediately puts me off. FULL OF YOURSELF MUCH, BOOK!!!!

Hehe, I agree about Red Queen. 😂 I have no idea how it’s so famous because it freaking COPIES so many other books. *collapses* But yeah! I mean it’s all so subjective, right?!? I think it’s silly to ALWAYS follow hype or ALWAYS ignore it. Because either way, a bookworm will miss out on stuff!!

I do not hate hype either. But I have been burned too many times (Red Queen, The Bronze Horseman, etc.) so I am wary when it comes to hyped because because they rarely meet my high expectations. But of course there are an exceptions. This year it was Illuminae and Six of Crows. I was hesitant to read them but I gave in and found new all time favorites. So yeah. Even though hyped books often bring me disappointment, from time to time hyped book is able to win me over.
Happy New Year, Cair 🙂

Red Queen TOTALLY burned me. -_- And yet I’ll probably still read the next book because…EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT AND I’M A SUCKER. XD But yes! I have to go with the hype because there are absolutely gems in there and I don’t want to miss them. 😛
Happy new year to you too, Lucia!

I don’t mind hype either! If it wasn’t for hype, sometimes I would find it very hard deciding what to read next. Hype gives a promise of SOMETHING. Whether that something is good or bad, it is up to you to decide but people are talking about said book and… one of the best things about blogging and reading is talking about books with people. It generates a buzz around a book and if some people in fact don’t like the book… well, they can recommend some others and maybe hype can be generated around them.
Although, I do hate the whole ‘oh, how can you not have read this? And you call yourself a bookworm!’ Just because I haven’t read The Fault in Our Stars, purely because I do not think I would enjoy it, it doesn’t mean I’m not obsessed with reading. Its like if there was a really hyped up novel about how to grow the perfect turnips in Antarctica. Yeah, it might be really great but… I’m not interested in growing turnips in Antarctica! Why would I join in with that hype if it doesn’t interest me?
Brilliant discussion Cait! And aaaah omg you used Six of Crows in your photo, the hype surrounding that book was definitely worth it! 😀

And at least, even if the hype sucks, there’s usually someone to talk to it about, right?!?! Which is why I kinda really like hyped books because it makes bookworm discussions SO EASY. 😀
But yes the whole “shame the bookworm for not reading this” is just as stupid as shaming people FOR reading all the hyped stuff GAH. Humans can be weird.
YES SIX OF CROWS IS DEFINITELY A HYPE WORTHY BOOK. XDXD

I’m actually a huge fan of online hype in particular! When I see a cover over and over again and see tons of five star reviews, it pushes me to Goodreads to read the premise. I won’t read a book simply because everyone else is, though. If it a) looks interesting and b) has good reviews from my most trusted bookish friends who have similar tastes as me (such as you), chances are I’m picking it up soon. It does make me nervous when I ONLY see good reviews and hype though because I’m worried I’ll be that awkward bookworm in the corner going, ” . . . no, just . . . just no.” But that hardly ever happens, which is good.

BUT OMG I’M SO WITH YOU ON CONTENT VS. STORYTELLING. I’m all for diversity. Seriously, it’s fabulous and needs to happen waaaayyyy more often. But when a book throws in all the diversity just for the sake of diversity, it isn’t doing anyone any favors.

So yeah, read what you want is my favorite way to go about it. And if it’s a book that’s being hyped that I can discuss with people, bonus!

YAY!! *hi fives* I read basically EVERY Ya book that gets hyped. ;D No regrets. Although some books get hyped so much that I get really sick of seeing them everywhere, hehe, especially if I didn’t like them in the end. AND YES OMG YES! Some books get insanely “popular” for being “diverse” adn yet the story is copying something else or is just lame, and it breaks my little hard-working-writerly-heart. SiIIIIIGH.

This post is perfect. With hyped books, it’s really just a matter of personal taste. I actually have a special spot in my heart for hyped books (specifically, friend/blogger hyped books), because I like enjoying what others are enjoying and I like being able to join in with their flailing whenever possible. And a lot of hyped books, like Divergent and The Hunger Games and Throne of Glass and Cinder are all really good. Of course, there will always be flops, but that could just be a personal taste thing for me most times. I think it’s funny, because in real life, I have a hard time admitting to liking really hyped books, like maybe my inner hipster is trying to shame me for my wayward ways. But hyped books really help me prioritize what to read, because if no one seems to like something, I’m less likely to spend my money on it (even though sometimes books that no body likes end up on my favorites list). Basically, if I see more than three people flailing over a book, or one source I really really trust, I’ll put that book on my to-buy list. So yeah, as a general rule, I’m a fan of hype–I just try to keep my expectations low as I’m coming in.

I so so like flailing with friends too!! It makes books even MORE special, you know?!?! And it’s much more fun than just flailing on one’s own. *nods sagely* And I totally prioritise hyped books too! Also because of spoilers?! It’s insane the way people spoil famous books. Gah. -_- So I want to have read it before all that stuff just leaks.

I have to admit it sometimes annoys me when books have ‘like *insert popular book*’ on them, because then I always end up comparing the two even though I don’t want to! But generally I don’t really mind if books are hyped or not.
(Also this post gets bonus points in my head because of the scrubs GIF (‘: )

READING WHAT WE WANT IS REALLY THE ONLY WAY TO GO, RIGHT?!?! 😂 And no shame! Heeeehhhh, I loved Six of Crows so I’m glad the hype was right about that one. 😉 I actually had a paragraph explaining why I took photos of these books but I’M AN IDIOT AND DELETED IT IN EDITS AND FORGOT TO ADD IT BACK IN. -_-

Hype sometimes affects me and sometimes doesn’t. It depends on my mood, the weather, how much cake I’d eaten that day… oh, and the book, of course. For example, I loved The DUFF, was kind of meh about Red Queen and simply hated 13 Reason’s Why. However, I think it is good for some books to get hyped. It makes people read books that they wouldn’t have otherwise and sometimes even people who generally don’t like reading pick up a book just because of the hype.

How much cake one has eaten in the day affects ALL KINDS OF THINGS. Like the position of the moon, and our height, and whether birds fly clockwise or anti-clockwise *nods sagely* So I totally get that.

*whispers* I’m glad you hated 13 Reasons Why too. I’m STILL in horror over that book’s message and I just…nope.

I trust reader hyper more too, and more specifically reader hype from a certain set of blogger friends. I read Simon vs because of twitter, which wasn’t on my radar before. Ditto Every Breath, which I rabidly promote now because I LOVE THAT SERIES. But it’s definitely a balancing act. Your list is perf. I haaaaate misdirection marketing. Not everything is the next Game of Thrones or Hunger Games. Sell the book for what it IS, not what you think people want to hear. I’m avoiding a couple hyped books at the moment more because I haven’t been in the mood for them but my expectations are quite high… it’s a tricksy thing all right!

I read Simon Vs because EVERYONE TOLD ME TO 294898 TIMES. 😂 So that was definitely a reader hype one (and it paid off!) and I do the same with Every Breath because omg, the Aussie covers are awful, so I feel like it needs more hype to get readers past that fact. XD And thank goodness not everything is “the next Hunger Games”. GAH. I don’t understand that method of promotion either. Because didn’t we already READ the Hunger games? Why do we want to read it again? DON’T WE WANT SOMETHING NEW?!??

I am generally okay with hype- unless I know that it is super unwarranted. Or ridiculously over the top hype that makes me want to like, rip my arm off and start swatting at people if they don’t shut up about it.

But those are rare! Like, Illuminae was super hyped- the steps at BEA were Illuminae steps, and then Brad freaking Pitt got involved- but I still didn’t think it was overwhelming. And then I also loved the book. There is one instance where I have not read the book, WANT to read it, but am so sick of hearing its name that I don’t know if I can look at it without twitching. People have been flailing about “The Book Whose Name I Don’t Want to Look at Anymore”, and these people haven’t even read it! I won’t NOT read the book because of it, but I am giving the hype a side-eye.

Now, a book which I don’t think deserved the hype? Seeker! What even is that book? It was touted (by, assumedly, publishers) as “the next big thing”, and is being made into a movie. Also? Here are some quotes for you: “Katniss and Tris would approve.”—TeenVogue.com; “This book will not disappoint.”-USAToday.com; “Fans of Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Marie Lu’s Legend, and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series: your next obsession has arrived.”-School Library Journal. ALL of those things lied to me. Katniss would not tolerate that crap. It DID disappoint. And this was only my new obsession in hatred. I am not alone- Goodreads readers gave it a whopping 3.25

Here’s the bottom line for me: Hype won’t have any influence over whether I read a book. BUT I also think it’s unfair to the authors of genuinely lovely books who get overlooked because everyone is focused on ONE book- a book that in some cases, ends up being a real dud. Think of all the money that could have been spread around to ALL the authors/books instead of all going into one. This is why I would be TERRIBLE at business 😉

Or like when the hype is. absolutely. everywhere and you can’t even click open the internet without getting assaulted by it?! THAT BUGS ME. Omg Illuminae was made INTO STAIRS?!?! OKAY THAT IS AWESOME. And when that kind of stuff happens, I can’t help but think the authors must be freaking out of their brains with excitement. I mean, talk about dreams come true, right?!? 😛

I confess though, as much as I want to read Truthwitch….I’m getting jolly sick of hearing about it. 😂 Every person on twitter seems to talk about it EVERY NIGHT and has profile pictures changed to it and omg, I just hope it’s good. *collapses in a heap dramatically*

Katniss would know what was up with that kind of Capitol promotion anyway. *sniffs*

And YES. I think publishers should be more fair about which books they choose to promote. Like maybe even go big with a few??!? Save them getting such a bad rap when a book dies?

Well, there have been hyped books that I loved and hyped books that I hated. You are right that, no matter what your opinion is, you can typically find someone who agrees with you on a hyped book. And even if you disagree, I freaking love discussing books with people. Sometimes, they can get me to look at something that I didn’t really think of before. Hype does scare me, but I have no problem reading a book with a lot of it. But if a blogger or friend that I trust completely doesn’t like it, then I won’t even give it a chance. I guess my TBR is too big to take risks. 🙂

Tbh, I’m usually a bit wary of hyped books but I don’t hate them. Although, I do think that the hype can be a bit too much. The Fault in Our Stars was a HUGE thing even as a book, but when they first started sharing pics from the movie people went CRAZY. No matter how hard I tried I could not avoid seeing it EVERYWHERE, and that was super-annoying, even though I loved that novel when I first read it.
In most cases the hype actually makes me pick up AWESOME books! Like, after Dangerous Girls came out so many bloggers were talking about what a mindfuck it was, and I felt the same way when I picked it up. Also, it made me addicted to mystery, which was a genre I hadn’t read many books in before. Same about Gone Girl that introduced me to Adult Mystery. And of course The Lunar Chronicles that I would have never picked up if not for the hype. Same about Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Unfortunately, some hyped books just don’t work for me, like the Slammed series by Colleen Hoover, and that feels SO BAD when everyone around me seems to love it.
Wonderful post! 🙂

I totally get that! I hate seeing stuff everywhere too! I mean, I LOVED TFIOS but even I got sick of seeing it. And true true about Dangerous Girls. 😂 I’m glad lots of people read it at once, though, and that the spoilers have mostly stayed hidden. That’s like amazing for the internet. hehe. I picked up the Lunar Chronicles because my sister threatened to throttle me if I didn’t. SOOOO I guess book recommendations come in all shapes and sizes?! eeehhhp.
(I read Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover and hated it? So you’re not alone.)

I definitely tend to trust reader hype over publisher hype, and whatever my blogger friends liked pretty much. Sometimes the hype actually ends up pushing the book down my TBR priority wise. And then there are other times that the hype is just annoying because the book is all over social media.

I think everything I wanted to say has already been said by Shannon ;D ESPECIALLY ABOUT SEEKER. Man I did not like that book very much.

And I always find certain bloggers to stalk whose opinions I really trust because then I KNOW if they hype a book: I’LL NEED IT. 😂 And gawsh yes, sometimes hype is so. annoying because it’s just everywhere and it makes the book super irritating. >_>

Ok so I don’t have a problem reading hyped books, I’m just very picky about which ones I choose. For example, I haven’t read divergent or any other Dystopian because I feel like a lot of them are quite similar, and a) I don’t want to spend money on books I won’t LOVE/I’ve read different version of b) I’ve had a fine on my library card since I was FOURTEEN so librarying is out of the question (heartbreaking I know) and c) I’d rather not waste my time on stuff I’m not all that interested in when I could be reading something amazing! Disappointing books really break my heart.

However, having said this I do add hyped books to my TBR based on how interesting I think I will find them, and book reviews! I never add a book to my TBR without checking out at least three different book reviews, and if the general consensus is good then I welcome it to the family! I recently bought Fangirl, which is not something I would ever normally read because contemporary isn’t my thang BUT when I heard about all the fab writer related stuff and read the even fabber reviews, I couldn’t resist!

And to be perfectly honest, I ALWAYS look for your goodreads review, and rating of a book, because if you’ve rated a book less than four POSSIBLY three stars then there’s no way I’m spending money on it.

Omg, so you can’t face your library because of the fine? YOU’RE WONDERFUL, ALLIYAH. 😂 But seriously librarians sometimes understand!! (Sometimes…Mwahhaha.) But I also don’t like to buy books because of hype. Gah. It’s too risky. I like to library them first, to be safe and certain. Because there’s nothing worse than filling your shelves with dodgy books, right?!

AWWW. *blushes* I’m glad you trust my reviews so much!! EVEN THOUGH I’M SUPER TOUGH?!?!? But even though I feel bad for being super tough, I feel like the books I then DO promote a lot, people pay attention to?! So it kinda works. 😛

ugh yes I’m WAYYYY to embarrassed to go back but the burden of the fine constantly bugs me AGH.

See that’s the thing, BECAUSE you’re a harsh reviewer i know for sure that if you love a book it’s probably worth a read. And you always name the good as well as the bad bits for every book so even when you give a low rating I’m able to see whether I’ll enjoy the book regardless.

I like the early stages of hype. If I see friends flailing about it online, it’ll be enough to make me check it out on goodreads and either request and arc or await its arrival. But I hate hype that lasts FOREVER. Then I just feel like I’m being assaulted whenever I go online.

Omg yes! Don’t you get so so sick of just seeing the book everywhere?! Because that is totally me. *collapses* It’s definitely like having it thrown smack in your face WHETHER YOU WANT TO SEE IT OR NOT. -_-

I used to never even pay attention to all the book hype. Like, I was clueless as to what the next big thing in the fictional universe was. I just read what I wanted to. But now that I’m part of the blogosphere and, as a result, AM AWARE OF EVERYTHING (Ha.) I read a lot more hyped books. And I’m glad! They tend to be good more often than not and I get to discuss them with everybody! But, yeah, I definitely know what you mean about your expectations not being met. Book hype can lead to disappointment, but then, so does reading a terrible book that didn’t have all the hype….

Me before blogosphere = SAME. I had no clue. I didn’t even know the Hunger Games was famous when I read it! Granted it wasn’t that famous then…but stiiiiill. I had no idea it was even a popular book. 😂 I think maybe I’m harsher on hyped books because I want to know if they deserve it?!? SO THAT’s BAD TOO. 😛

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, when a book is recommended by someone who has read it (friend or book blog) I tend to take that recommendation more seriously, rather than a publisher (at the end of the day, they are a business). However, I have had the recommendation, read the book and hated it or didn’t gel with me, and I always feel a little betrayed (even though I know deep down, it’s not that serious… sometimes).Completely agree with you on the minority character problem (“that minority group is popular right now, lets include one for marketing purposes so we seem edgy”), Good Storytelling should always come first.

True *nods* Which is why I like reading blogs and not just following publishers and whatnot or seeing what bookstores are pushing. Which is whyyyy bloggers need to stay true and not feel bad about posting negative reviews of massively hyped books. 😛

I really did not understand the hype for Divergent and The Hunger Games, granted I did read both of them completely and it just did not do it for me. They seemed to be just quick reads that only took a day or two per book but in the end it was just nothing special, like you said.
However, there are some books I have read because of the hype (Red Queen) and loved. If I see a lot of people posting about a specific book and then see it in the library I’ll pick it up but I generally read what I think I’ll like.

I 100% agree with you when it comes to hype. I’ll be much more inclined to buy into reader hype than publisher hype. Either way, it’s pretty impressive to say that a person from the US and a person from Australia are fans of the same books. Also excellent Hades GIF!

I follow the hype simply because I’m too lazy to dig for non hyped books, I got a “go with the flow” personality, and I want to be able to flail about the book with other people 🙂 I honestly think there is nothing wrong with following the hype. Especially if you’re a blogger. I mean, you want to stay relevant to what’s popular to some degree amiright? I think the danger in hype is what you said- when books are promoted because of content and not good storytelling. It makes me really sad when non quality reads get so much attention from publishers. Another danger is when YOU base your review on the hype. When you find reasons to dislike a story, but everyone else is liking it, so you pretend to like it too. That’s not cool. Following the hype is okay in my book, but your reviews have to be honest. Ya know what I mean, jelly bean? You got to balance going with the flow and marching to the beat of your own drum.

One really hyped book that people seemed to LOVE was Magonia. I couldn’t get into it. I read less than 50 pages and had so much I didn’t like about the story. But Illuminae is also a hyped book that I did love 🙂

SAME! SAME! And I think that’s awesome, though, right?! I’d MUCH rather be able to flail with humans over books we have in common than only read obscure books and have to fangirl alone. Fangirling alone is saaaaaad.
Oh oh and pretending to like a book so as not to be a “black sheep”? Yeah that is sad. D: What’s worse is that people feel they NEED to do that or they’ll get attacked! ACK. That’s not a nice community spirit, is it?! *winces*

SAME WITH ME AND MAGONIA. I spent 99% of the time going “what even the HECK”.

Loving your pros and cons list!
I have good and bad experiences with hyped books – some I have loved and it’s amazing having so many people to discuss them with, and others have left me majorly disappointed. The Throne of Glass series is a hyped series that I have absolutely loved, whereas I think the biggest hype disappointment I’ve ever had was If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I just did not enjoy that book at all, even though it was huge in the blogosphere for ages.

Thanks, Laura!! *flails wildly* I’m glad you liked Throne of Glass. It is quite the epic series hehe, although I did like If I Stay! But I actually hadn’t heard much hyping of it before I read it? So I don’t think my expectations were too high.

Like you I trust reader hype more. Reader hype comes about because a lot of people genuinely LOVE the book! Which means there has to be something good about it that’s inspiring such love. But I’m always scared going in because of the high expectations thing. I can thing of numerous books that didn’t live up to expectations I had after seeing so much hype.

Publisher hype is a promotional thing. They put money into promoting the book so more people buy it. It’s not necessarily a true reaction to the book itself, just a ploy for more profit.

A 2015 book that I think was completely worthy of the hype is Six of Crows! Red Queen and An Ember in the Ashes were books I didn’t love as much as the majority, but I could see why they got so much hype.

*nods* I totally agree. And I mean, publishers DO have to sell books and they do what they do to make a living…but it’s annoying when you just can’t trust it at all, right?!? Because it really has nothing to do with the book. *heavy sigh* I AM SO GLAD SIX OF CROWS LIVED UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS TOO. <3

YES THIS POST. I love how you got into the positives of hype. I’ve found most of my favorite books through hype, and even when hype makes a book so disappointing, there’s always someone to rant about it with. This post is fabulous : )

You know, I’m not entirely sure if there has been a situation where hype has gone well for me. I mean, I adored Shadow & Bone, but I read it before I started blogging, so I had no idea it was so well loved. And other books I have loved happen to HAVE hype, but I didn’t necessarily READ them because of hype – like Legend by Marie Lu, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I guess they can count, though, because I knew people loved them before I read them.

One bad example is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Even though it is now one of my favourite series ever, I was very let down by the first book because everyone had told me that it was God’s gift to the universe, and it really wasn’t.

To be honest, I don’t have a negative or positive view when it comes to hype, but I will be tentative when it comes to reading a book practically everyone has loved. I feel like I need to read it in secret so people don’t go: OH YOU’RE READING THAT BOOK YOU’LL LOVE IT BECAUSE IT’S THE BEST. Reading under pressure = not fun. I usually wait a while so I can *kind of* forget there was so much hype around it, haha.

I actually really like hype! Note: I am a newer blogger, so I don’t have tons of experience with hype in general. But I enjoy it because it introduces me to books or authors that I probably never would have heard of otherwise. (I read/review mostly older books.) And, like you said, it paves the way for DISCUSSIONS!! Aah, I love that.

Oh oh I totally know what you mean *nods* And like I’ve been blogging for years, but it’s still easy to miss out on news of books?! So hype DOES help me pick up books I might’ve missed otherwise! But the discussing is the best part. 😛

Basically I have nothing against hyped books especially if they are highly recommended by bloggers and booktubers that I really trust. Plus I can add even more books to my never-ending TBR (which is both a pain and pleasure for me). In fact one really hyped book of 2015 became my book of the year and that was The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I was pretty unsure about reading it at first because the premise of the book was quite new to me. But then the book lived up to its hype and I am MORE THAN SATISFIED of it. (I LOVE IT! :D)

However I TOTALLY AGREE with your Cons #1 about the book that’s been VERY hyped and that you were ABSOLUTELY excited for but ended up being such a BIG disappointment. I had the very same experience when I read Throne of Glass last December. I was super excited to read it because there have been sooo many raves about it and its name is practically splattered across the blogosphere and BookTube. But then I felt so CHEATED (as you have so wonderfully phrased it) afterwards. I wasn’t able to connect with Celaena’s character and I found her to be quite whiny and immature and so different from her “notorious assassin” image which was from the premise of the book. I ended up liking Nehemia more and found Dorian and Chaol to be quite interesting characters. For now I stopped reading the series and I’m still undecided if I’ll still continue on with it. Many booknerds have commented that the series gets better at the 2nd book but the first book totally ruined it for me. Personally I get hooked to a series by how good I found the first book to be and with the Throne of Glass I found it meh. :/

I hear ya with the “both pain and a pleasure”. XD I feel like my TBR is going to crush me flat before I ever manage to read it all. 😂 But somehow I don’t mind because I ALSO REALLY LURVE BOOKS. *hyperventilates*

(I’ve stopped reading Throne of Glass too. I mean, I loved the first 2 books actually? I adored Celaena. xD But I couldn’t stand where the series was going, because she just got so selfish and ditched Chaol/Dorian and they were my favourite…and I feel like the author is crafting a completely different series from the direction she started? It makes me so unhappy, so yeah. I’m skipping. D: Have you tried The Demon King?!?? It is AMAZING and it has thieves and murders and queens and things and I just thought it was WAY better than Throne of glass. 😂)

Omg! I’m glad I’m not the ONLY one who found Throne of Glass unsatisfactory. I kinda hate being the minority. The Demon King huh? That sounds REALLY interesting! Okay I’ll add it my my ETERNAL, NEVER-ENDING TBR pile. Hahaha. Anyway, thanks for the book recommendation. I really appreciate it! Do you know how many books there are in the series? 😀

Yeah, when publishers hype books I often get shifty eyed because you’re like…of course you would hype it! Although TBH sometimes reader hype is off putting as well, because what if I don’t love it as much as everyone else? What if I’m a black sheep (like with TWATD) *hides*. I do trust reader hype though, especially if many of my trusted blogger friends love it too!

Oh, I absolutely agree with everything you said! I’ve actually been quite annoyed lately with the overhyping of the books, as a lot of them have usually let me down. And as you said, there are some that are similar to said book but even better, with no publicity. Such a shame! I feel like, as a book blogger, I want to find the hidden gems 🙂

I like book hype. It’s nice to have conversations with people about books. It is a bit annoying when it’s about a book that has a bad message (Fifty Shades of Grey anyone?). Like you said, it’s an even split.

I don’t really care either way about hype, because it often doesn’t affect me that much. Sometimes that’s because I often have the talent of reading a book right before it starts being hyped (hello, Illuminae) or because in general I don’t really think about the hype that much. Sometimes the hype makes me want to try a book but I usually don’t build huge expectations for it. Though, one book where I think the hype was totally wrong is Red Queen, (a lot of people did love it, but…) and one where I thought it was worthy of the hype was The Martian. I suppose that hype was mostly generated because of the movie but it was a GOOD book!

I hear ya on the Red Queen. I just don’t really understand the hype for that one??? because I could see STACKS of books where it heavily took inspiration from. :O Not that it’s completely unoriginal?? But I just didn’t think it was worthy of the hype. OOPS. XD And hehe, yes it’s nice to be in front of the hype. I admit! Totally hispter confession here! But it makes me feel cool to be in front of the hype. 😉 I read The Hunger Games before it was huge. ALSO MAGGIE STIEFVATER. hehe. But I really want to read The Martian eventually!!